Everyone really is making that great leap across the pond.
Yesterday, geospatial intelligence company Maxar announced that it’s teaming up with Swedish defense giant Saab to build space-based C5ISR (Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance, for the uninitiated) told to help militaries “stay connected and aware, even when GPS goes down.”
“By combining Maxar’s mission-focused geospatial intelligence with Saab’s advanced defense systems, we’re helping European allies tackle tactical challenges on their terms and reinforcing our commitment to providing mission-ready solutions for the modern battlespace,” Maxar CEO Dan Smoot told Tectonic via email.
Eyes on the prize: When we asked Smoot why Maxar was making major inroads in Europe with Saab, Smoot said a lot of it comes down to what’s happening on the edges of the continent.
“The war in Ukraine has made the need for real-time geospatial intelligence, especially the ability to identify change on the ground, more clear than ever,” he wrote.
- Saab is going to integrate Maxar’s geospatial intelligence and 3D terrain data software, including Raptor, into its C5ISR systems.
- This should make drones more resilient in contested environments, and militaries better able to see what’s happening on the battlefield.
- Maxar’s products have been a game changer in Ukraine, where they’ve provided visibility on the battlefield and helped drones navigate and target even when jammed.
Maxar said that Raptor’s vision-based navigation software—which we wrote about a little while back—has already been tested on Saab’s products around the world. According to the company, Raptor was able to “accurately extract ground coordinates within an accuracy of less than 2m.”
The two companies say that the partnership will improve Saab’s capabilities across the board—from drone navigation, to command and control, to battlefield intelligence. “The deal…reflects the growing realization that geospatial intelligence can go beyond powering analyst workflows to powering mission-focused software products deployed at the tactical edge,” Smoot said.